Bring Many Names

I grew up thinking of God as "the Father".  Not "the Godfather" but rather like a father one might find in a Disney fairy-tale.  A father who loved his daughter more than anyone else in the world, unconditionally and forever.  Even when the father seemed to be absent, or even dead, somehow his love was still strong enough to protect his child when she was in danger - either directly or through agents (like fairy-godmothers) who mysteriously appeared just in time to set things right.  This was a comforting thought and I honestly didn't spend much time critically examining it because it worked for me.

Over time I realized that others had different images and names for God, based on their up-bringing and experience, and that helped to expand my relationship with God too.  Sometimes "the Father" image was perfect.  But other times a "mother hen" image fit better.  Or a "talking cricket" sitting on my shoulder. Or even "a big whale that was keeping me trapped to help focus my attention and understanding" - I can be really stubborn:).  All of us our multi-dimensional, so it makes sense to me that God would be even more so.  Impossible to pin down with one name, or one image.

But here's the tricky part.  I know that there are people who find some of the traditional images of God old-fashioned, irrelevant, hurtful or even offensive.  Some may find them limiting, while others would strongly prefer that we limit ourselves to them only.  Whenever I refer to God as "She" in a sermon or prayer, it's always noticed and commented on - and the comments are not all the same!

I believe that God is loving and radically inclusive of all living creatures, including humans.  And that because God loves us in our individuality, our relationships with God will reflect that diversity.  So will the language that we each use to describe that ever evolving relationship.  May we benefit from that range of expressions to explore the potential for new layers in our own relationship with the Divine.

Reflection on Psalm 7

It is clear that the psalmist believes God to be a righteous god.  But it also clear that the psalmist believes that he personally is in the right, and therefore God will naturally and fairly be on his side.  In fact, he's so sure that he's in the right that he's baiting God, saying "If I did what they accuse me of, strike me down".  So confident.  And then emboldened by the fact that he isn't struck down.

But what if those who accuse him are also praying the same prayer?  Confident that they are right and that God will judge in their favor.  It's concerning to have so much confidence that I boldly assume God will punish my enemies unilaterally.  Is that what a righteous God would do?

Is it possible that neither the psalmist nor his enemies are 100% righteous or 100% evil?  Would the psalmist be able to accept that.  Would we?

Lord, thank you for providing a safe space for me, and protection from my enemies.  Help me to be righteous, not self-righteous.  Amen.